Citizens Oversight Committee LA County Board of Supervisors members Max Huntsman, speaking, with Brent Braun. The working group tasked with giving the Board of Supervisors recommendations on the future Civilian Oversight Commission's size, scope, structure and responsibilities is hosted a meeting at Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden Wednesday, April 22, 2015. This is part of a series of nine town hall meetings in Los Angeles County's five districts to reach out to the community for recommendations and comments. The Coalition to End Sheriff Violence in Los Angeles Jails þÄì which includes over 20 organizations countywide, survivors of sheriff violence, their families, and communities þÄì have been calling on the county for three years to create an independent civilian oversight commission over the Los Angeles County SheriffþÄôs Department with subpoena power.()Photo by Walt Mancini/Pasadena Star-News)

ARCADIA >> Community members sought subpoena power, transparency and accountability Wednesday during a town hall meeting to discuss the formation of a new citizen’s oversight committee to oversee the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

“Transparency shouldn’t be dependent on the sheriff’s cooperation,” Evan Bunch of Los Angeles told the working group. “Time and time again, we have seen that the sheriff’s cooperation does not mean transparency.”

Subpoena power would give the committee the right to obtain documents and other information from the sheriff’s department, even when department opposes disclosure.

Paul Jong, a staff attorney for Asian Americans Advancing Justice Los Angeles, agreed. “Subpoena power is something that is essential for true accountability and transparency,” he said.

The meeting at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden was the sixth in a planned series of nine town hall meetings for residents to offer suggestions on what their believe should be considered to help shape the oversight board, which the supervisors approved late last year in a 3-2 vote.

The working group will provide recommendations regarding exactly how the civilian oversight committee will be formed, and what it will do.

“This is an important opportunity for us to hear your insights, your thoughts,” working group member Brent Braun said. “We welcome your comments and your input.”

Working group member Les Robbins said he opposed granting the citizen’s oversight committee subpoena power.

“I think subpoena power is going to make things worse, not make things better,” he said, adding that it could foster distrust between the sheriff’s department and the committee.

“If it is to climb into the personal lives of the 9,000 men and women of the sheriff’s department, that’s going to make things worse,” Robbins said.

The issue of how the members of the committee are to be selected also remains the topic of debate.

Working group members presented a series of six possibilities. All of them involved five members of the nine-member committee being appointed by each of the five members of the Board of Supervisors. But options regarding how the other four members would be selected ranged from the supervisors appointing them to selection by a special board tasked with choosing members who represent the county’s diverse populace.

Marti Marshall of Sylmar said she noticed that law enforcement, prisoner activist and other interest groups appeared well-represented in the forming plan, she was concerned because she saw no mention of the interests of “regular folks” and “law-abiding citizens.”

Upcoming town hall meetings are planned at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Exposition Park in Los Angeles, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the East Los Angeles Library and April 30 at the West Hollywood library.

Brian Day has covered crime and breaking news for the Southern California News Group since 2007. He’s a graduate of California State University, Fullerton and Cerritos College in Norwalk. He loves dogs and has a pet German shepherd, which in turn, has a pet cat. Brian is a local news junkie, a licensed drone pilot and a part-time science geek with an unfortunate predilection for puns.

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